Forever Yours, Sir (Doms of Decadence 2)

She’d been cleared by the doctor to go back to work without any limitations. She was ecstatic; Hunter thought he was developing an ulcer.

“Then who? Is something wrong?”

She walked toward him, raising her hand as though to touch his cheek. He dodged back, cursing himself when hurt filled her gaze. She stepped away, pulling back from him physically as well as emotionally.

Fuck. He hadn’t meant to hurt her. But he was feeling guilty that he’d barely even thought about Angie or done any investigating into her death lately.

Still, that didn’t give him the right to treat Cady like shit.

“Sorry, baby. I’m a bit touchy this morning. I think it might be best if I took off for a while. I’m not good company at the moment.”

“Sure, I understand,” she said in a cool voice.

He walked toward the bedroom to get dressed. She sat on the bed and watched him.

Leaning down, he gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll call you later, all right?”

She nodded.

Feeling like an asshole, but knowing he needed to go, Hunter gave her one last glance before walking out the door.

***

Hunter walked into the storage locker his sister had hired. He’d settled the bill, all he had to do now was drag everything out and take it back to his place. He let out a sigh as he saw the dozen or so boxes inside.

He opened the box closest to him, slicing through the tape with a knife. Books. He smiled. He should have guessed. Angie had loved to read, she’d told him it was a way to escape, to live another life.

Hunter rummaged through it briefly, but it seemed like all the box held were more romances. That could well be what all these boxes held. But he still intended to go through each one. Hopefully, one of these boxes held some clues about Angie’s death.

He took out his phone.

“Gray, it’s Hunter. I’m not coming in today, can you handle the new clients I had scheduled to meet today?”

“Yes, I suppose. You’re going to owe me, though. I guess Cady won’t be in, either?”

“No, she should be in. Why? Did she call?” Hunter asked worriedly.

“Ahh, no, I just assumed that’s why you wanted to take the day off.”

“No.” Hunter sighed, then told his partner about the earlier phone call.

“Shit. Do you want some help?”

“No, I’ll be fine. It looks like boxes of books, mostly. But I want to go through it now. I know it’s not good timing…”

“It’s fine. Call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks. Oh, and don’t tell anyone, will you?”

“Not even Cady?” Gray asked.

“Particularly not Cady.”

“You’re making a mistake, keeping things from her.”

“It’s better this way,” Hunter argued, even as he wondered if he was right. “Look, I’ve got to go, I told the owner I’d have this place cleared out before lunch.”

Five hours later, Hunter sat in his living room, surrounded by books, clothes and empty boxes. He’d gone through all but two boxes. He’d searched through every book, every item of clothing. Nothing.